How to Pass the Topstep Combine

Topstep's Combine rewards a steady, rules-respecting approach more than a rush to the finish line. This guide covers exactly what the Combine requires in 2026 and how to set up an automated Pine Script strategy around those rules.

Topstep Combine rules at a glance

The EOD trailing drawdown explained

Topstep's trailing drawdown only moves at the close of each trading day, based on that day's closing balance — meaningfully different from an intraday trail that follows every tick of unrealized equity.

Intraday trailing (Apex-style): the threshold follows the highest equity reached tick by tick during the session. Run up $500 unrealized and give it back, and the trail has already tightened by $500 in real time.

EOD trailing (Topstep-style): the threshold only moves at the close. Unrealized swings during the session don't touch it — only the balance actually locked in when the day ends does.

Because the trail only moves at the close, a script's daily kill switch is the primary line of defense — there's no need for real-time equity tracking beyond the current session's running P&L versus a defined daily floor.

The daily loss limit — the rule that fails the most traders

On the 50k account, $1,000 of loss in a single session suspends trading for the day. That sounds like a lot of room until it's translated into instrument terms:

• MES at roughly $5/point: about 200 points of adverse movement on one contract wipes the limit
• MNQ at roughly $2/point: about 500 points wipes it
• ES at roughly $50/point: as few as 20 adverse points wipes it

An automated strategy running full-size contracts, or several micros at once, can reach that limit faster than a trader watching the screen even realizes.

Set the script's internal kill switch below the hard limit

A daily P&L tracker that halts all new entries once session losses reach roughly 80% of the hard limit — $800 on the 50k — leaves a buffer for slippage on the exit that finally closes a position, plus any latency between the TradingView alert firing and the broker executing it.

Add a secondary limit at the broker

Tradovate has its own daily loss control in its risk dashboard. Setting that a step below Topstep's hard limit — around $950 on the 50k — gives a backstop if the script's kill switch ever fails to fire (a dropped connection during a trade, webhook latency). Redundant protection isn't overkill on a funded account.

If you automate through CrossTrade, its Account Manager can hold a similar backstop on the account: a max daily loss and a trailing drawdown, set a step inside Topstep's limits, with positions flattened and the account locked when one is hit. Like any limit, it's a control you set, not a guarantee.

Best instruments for the Combine

MES — best for smaller accounts

At roughly $5/point, a 4-point stop costs about $20 — dozens of individual losses before the kill switch triggers, giving the most operational room within Topstep's limits.

MNQ — best for higher-frequency setups

At roughly $2/point, a 10-point stop costs about the same as MES's 4-point stop. MNQ's larger typical range creates more opportunities on trend days. Our MNQ momentum strategy guide is built with Topstep's rule set specifically in mind.

ES and NQ — reserved for larger accounts

Full-size contracts move the daily risk far faster — a single 10-point ES stop can cost half the daily limit on a 50k Combine. They're workable on 100k/150k accounts where the limit scales up; stick to micros below that.

Automation setup for Topstep

The stack we recommend is TradingView Pine Script → CrossTrade → Tradovate.

1. Open a CrossTrade account and link your Tradovate account in the browser. Tradovate connects in the cloud, so there's nothing to install.
2. Set the strategy's position size to a small starting count, typically 1 contract on a 25k/50k Combine.
3. Copy your CrossTrade webhook URL and secret key from your CrossTrade account.
4. Add the Pine Script to a TradingView chart, applied to the correct contract. Enable Bar Magnifier under Strategy Properties → Fill orders for more realistic fills.
5. Create a TradingView alert on the strategy's order fills. Paste your CrossTrade webhook URL into the Webhook URL field and CrossTrade's alert message into the Message field, with your Combine account name on the account= line.
6. Watch the first session. Confirm entries and exits execute the way the strategy expects for at least one full session at minimum size before trading your normal size.

Common mistakes that fail the Combine

Getting caught by a high-volatility session without a filter

FOMC, NFP, or an unexpected headline can blow through a strategy tuned for a 4-point MES move. A session filter that stops entries for a short window before and after major scheduled releases avoids the worst of it.

Skipping Bar Magnifier

Without it, a strategy can show a clean backtest and still execute noticeably worse live, since fills are only modeled at bar opens rather than realistic intrabar levels.

Trading the open without a filter

The first several minutes after the futures open are often thin and wide-spread — many traders filter this window out entirely rather than risk a stop filling at a much worse price than expected.

Trying to "make back" a losing day

A trader down most of the daily limit sometimes increases size to recover it — this is how a manageable loss becomes a Combine-ending one. Automation removes the temptation; the script doesn't size up on a losing day, it just follows the rules.

FAQ